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Step 1 - Micro
Hard Disk Players
Price
Range: Up To £200
Micro hard
disk players offer good memory capacity
within small sized bodies, which are not
much larger than some flash memory players.
They do however use more battery power
than flash memory versions.
They are designed to support the most
popular types of music file formats and
photographs.
Key Benefits
1. Relative
compact size
2. You can view
photographs as well as listen to music
The key features
to look out for in micro hard disk players
are their build quality, the types and
sizes of media files that they can play,
their battery life and their audio visual
quality.
Build
Quality
Micro hard discs have moving parts that
can get damaged when dropped or badly
knocked. It is important that they are
protected by a robust body and ideally
have a scratch resistant screen.
Number
of Media Files
Typically these media players hold at
least 4 Gigabytes of memory that is capable
of holding 970 tracks of music or 4,000
photographs (at 3 megapixels). Larger
capacity units often feature up to 10
Gigabyte of memory. Some models have memory
card slots for extra memory. For further
information on multimedia file storage
capacities please Click
Here.
Types of
Media Files
All these MP3 players (except Apple) will
play the most popular music file formats
which are generally MP3, WMA and JPEG
picture files.
If you intend to down load music files
form the Internet it is important that
you check that the file format you are
downloading is accepted by your small
hard disk player. For further information
on the different types of media files
then click here. Some players also have
additional features such as DAB radios
and voice recorders.
Audio
Visual Quality
These players are primariy designed to
play sound through earphones and display
pictures on their small screens. The quality
of the sound that you hear is determined
by the file formats that you use and the
quality of your earphones.
Screen quality does vary from unit to
unit and it is worth seeking out user
reviews.
Battery
Life
Typically up to 15 hrs. The majority of
these units feature rechargeable batteries
that typically take about 3 hours to fully
recharge through a USB cable that connects
to a computer.
Positives:
Easy to carry
about on the move, lightweight and very
affordable with good memory capacity.
Negatives:
Hard discs
have moving parts which can be damaged
and screen sizes are very small.
Our Verdict:
Ideal for travel,
sharing photographs and listening to music
on the move due to their small size. However,
recharging the unit through a USB cable
connected to a computer or via a mains
adaptor can be very inconvenient when
travelling.
You can also
see the latest buyer reviews for MP3 players
by using the links on our product
review page.
Now check our
Specification Guide
against your intended MP3 player usage:
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